Net Zero Energy Project

The College of Architecture + Planning is undertaking a major initiative to expand and renovate its 1970 building into a net zero energy facility.

Our goal: reduce energy use by 80%+ and generate all required energy onsite.

The project is the vanguard of a university-wide commitment to reduce energy consumption and attain greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. Recognized by the Department of Energy (DOE) as an "exemplary net zero retrofit" and selected for participation in the DOE's Commercial Building Partnership, the project is one of the most ambitious energy renovation projects of its type.

Why are we doing this? Home to the only accredited architectural program in the state of Utah, the College has an obligation to demonstrate that another model exists for the planning and design of the state's existing physical facilities and of its natural environment. The initiative is a bold gesture requiring numerous considerations, including energy conservation and generation, facility and resource management, technological innovation, user behavior and education, and preservation. As a result, the project will stand as a living laboratory where new tools and new ideas about energy efficiency in the built environment can be tested, applied, and monitored by everyone who studies, works in, or visits our building.

Key guiding assumptions on our path to net zero:

- existing historical and aesthetic attributes will be honored and continued;
- existing concrete skeleton will remain although the envelope may be adapted;
- existing HVAC and lighting is subject to replacement;
- existing teaching and research activities will continue although behavior will be modified.